Ariana Grande Hurt and Confused by Bette Midler’s Diss Towards Her

Ariana Grande is both hurt and confused by veteran entertainer Bette Midler’s recent dig at her performance choices, with sources saying that she does not understand the diss for more than one reason. She later took to Twitter to give a first-hand account of her feelings.

The 21-year-old was reportedly shocked after hearing what Midler thought of her AMA performance, and was also slightly wounded by the words the Wind Beneath My Wings singer used to express her discontent. Not only is the Florida native upset at the general disinclination to support her on-stage performance choices, but is also disappointed over the fact that she herself is a huge Midler fan and the remarks directed at her show that the feeling is in no way mutual. She also feels as though the 68-year-old is something of a hypocrite in terms of the reasons why she fired shots at Grande’s on-stage performance, in that she used to behavior in the exact same manner back in the prime of her heyday.

In this, she was referring to the fact that Midler was one of the most provocative female acts in the 1970’s, causing controversy and conflict with her outlandish sexual performances and appearances. Indeed, the singer was photographed on more than one occasion in less than full clothing and made a point of not being ashamed to express her sexuality through her music, videos, and live performances. Grande expressed her discontent on the subject by posting a picture to Twitter containing her idol in a mermaid-themed outfit (photographed a few decades ago) with the caption stating that as far as she knew, Midler had always been a feminist that advocated for females having the right to say or act however they want sans judgement. She wraps up the post by saying that although she does not know what happened to the woman she knew and respected, she wanted that mermaid back and would continue to love and support her no matter what.

Midler herself responded shortly after, uploading a tweet that jokingly suggested her reasoning behind her diss to Grande was related to her age and the fact that she was a lot older than any of the new talents and therefore had developed different views on how things should be done or the way that young women should act in this day. She goes on to state her view that Grande has a beautiful voice regardless of how she is choosing to exhibit herself in performance, and that she recognizes this no matter what other things may or may not factor into any future commentary.

Midler put Grande on blast shortly after her raunchy AMA performance this past Sunday, saying that she was both disappointed and saddened at the state young female entertainers have to put themselves in to get attention and exposure in the music industry. She maintained from the beginning that Grande indeed had a superior voice, but stated that she looked very silly showing off provocative dance moves and using a couch as a prop while performing in public. She went on to voice her opinion that her manager or publicist should stop forcing her to act this way, and let her talent speak for herself.